Depression-era photos of the South in color

The Great Depression hit the poorest areas of the U.S. hardest of all, and the American South was no exception. Tenant farmers and migrant workers were already living in extreme poverty and suffering under Jim Crow laws of the region, but during the Depression things became even more starkly dire. These photos were captured by photographers working for the United States Farm Security Administration (FSA) and later the Office of War Information (OWI), mostly in 1939, 1940 and 1941. These are more unusual in the fact that they are presented in full color, while most of the vast number of FSA and OWI images from the same era are in black and white.

Note: The original captions have been retained except where they used racially offensive terms. Those terms have either been removed or replaced as necessary.

Original caption: "Bayou Bourbeau plantation, a FSA cooperative, Natchitoches, La. A family (?) seated on the porch of a house, June 1940."

Courtesy Library of Congress

Original caption: "Bayou Bourbeau plantation, a Farm Security Administration cooperative, vicinity of Natchitoches, La. Three children sitting on the porch of a house, 1940 August" -Library of Congress

Courtesy Library of Congress

Original caption: "Clothes of swimmers hanging on a telegraph pole, Lake Providence, La. The children from the nearby farms and neighborhoods go swimming, on Saturday afternoon and Sunday, in the lake. June 1940."

Courtesy Library of Congress

Louisiana, circa 1940.

Courtesy Library of Congress

Original caption: "An old tenant house with a mud chimney and cotton growing up to its door, which is occupied, Melrose, La., June 1940."